Archived

Somewhere, anywhere... Here I sit in the confines of an aeroplane, on the last leg to Australia, Singapore to Darwin. Thinking about the ocean below that we slowly traversed aboard the KM Awu

Berlin, everywhere... It seems somewhat churlish to complain about being tired [https://train-travels.ghost.io/spain-i-mean-catalonia/] of travelling around, not working, doing what you want, but anyone who has had the privilege of

Pit-stop on the Costa Brava. From Franconia via Paris we headed to Barcelona to visit Marc, an old mate from Katherine, who's been back in his native Catalonia for a few

Walking in the fränkische Schweiz (which, somewhat confusingly, means the franconian Switzerland [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franconian_Switzerland]). My old stomping ground of Franconia, where I spent many moons, coming and going

Berlin's spirit of resistance! Ok, so, yeah, all the kool kids say Berlin is so cool, blah, blah, blah. As much as it pains me to say so, I agree. Many

Paris streets, Latin quarter. Our second trip to Paris was slightly longer than the first – we left the public transport system! We stayed about six hours, after an overnight trip on the legendary,

On the ferry from Mallaig to Knoydart. Scotland was beautiful. Stunningly, mythically beautiful. We really went to Scotland because Niamh wanted to go to a music festival in Ullapool, in the north. Then

Over one of the Bernina Pass rail line's viaducts. I wrote recently about the farce [https://train-travels.ghost.io/juggling-spontaneity-and-short-timeframes-what-happens-when-you-drop-the-balls/] of the few days that were concentrated around Milan - Switzerland

... or juggling spontaneity and short timeframes. What happens when you drop the ball(s). . Sometimes events conspire, other times you just haven't thought things through. Sometimes both hold. Mostly, these sorts

One of the many tarns (mountain lake) in the valleys of the High Tatras. In amongst a fairly rushed fortnight [https://train-travels.ghost.io/prague-slovakia-budapest-milan/], we spent a lovely (too) few days in

The end of a day's walk in the High Tatras, Slovakia. Just next to the Téryho chata hut at the top of the Malá Studená dolina - or Small cold valley!

On the Rennsteig! After leaving Berlin, I went back to Jena and spent a couple of days at Eva and Falk's place, catching up on sleep and doing a bit of

Berlin has got a bit more grit - and stuff happening! - than the average German city. I spent three days in Berlin, feeling the effects of successive days of short sleeps and

Amsterdam canals Ostensibly Ireland and Britain are part of Europe but, whether because they're islands or because they're part of a larger English-speaking world, I always feel they are

Buskers at the Fleadh Cheoil After arriving back in Ireland, we headed west, aiming for Sligo [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sligo] and the the Fleadh [http://www.fleadhcheoil.ie] (Fleadh Cheoil na

Ai Weiwei in the Chapel We went to Yorkshire sculpture park [http://www.ysp.co.uk] on a rainy Sunday, while visiting friends of Niamh in Sheffield. I've never been too

Looking back to Sheffield across the beautiful purple heather of the Peak district. After the adventures of the Gaeltacht [https://train-travels.ghost.io/irish/] and Cloone show [https://train-travels.ghost.io/cloone-show/] we

Irish spelling is mad. There are huge amounts of letters that are silent, or bear no relation to what you say. And then there are letters that are not there that you insert

Last weekend we went to Cloone agricultural show. Cloone is a village in County Leitrim where Niamh's father grew up and her grandmother still lives, in the house she was born

In the Gleanne Fhinne [http://www.oideas-gael.com/en/gleann-fhinne/] Gaeltacht [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaeltacht]. Part of my plans in Europe was to learn some Irish. Back in Australia I did

Hitching out of Dublin. One thing that hitching teaches you, is that people are invariably willing to help when they're unable to. Full cars have friendly drivers regretfully unable to help,

The beautiful River Barrow. After a week lounging around at Niamh's family home in Leixlip, on the outskirts of Dublin, we headed off for Carlow town, to paddle down the Barrow

Approaching Dublin on the ferry from Holyhead After a lovely week and a half of catching up with old friends, canoeing and bike-riding in Thüringen it was time to meet Niamh in London

Jena. It was 18 years since I'd been in Germany and probably 15 since the last contact with my good friends Eva and Isa, so I was really looking forward to

On the ferry from Turku to Stockholm Step by step we were finally arriving in Europe – although the final destination is Niamh's home, for me Germany, where I spent so much